Looking to snap their four-game skid, the Panther volleyball team spent this past weekend down in Columbia, Mo., for another four-game slate, this time in the Mizzou Invitational.

The round-robin tournament featured matchups against 21st-ranked Missouri, Boise State, Austin Peay and Missouri-Kansas City as the Panthers continued their difficult non-conference schedule.

“Missouri is probably the standout team of this tournament,” head coach Bobbi Petersen said.

“They will be in the top 25 poll just because of what they’ve done in the last two weeks, but the other three teams we’re playing having also done some really good things. So it will be a very competitive and full weekend for us.”

Friday afternoon saw UNI take on the University of Missouri-Kansas City in their first match of the tournament. The Purple and Gold dominated the first two sets, taking the first set by a commanding score of 25-10 and winning the second, 25-12. However, UMKC bounced back in the third set in a closer battle at 25-23. Ultimately, UNI prevailed in the fourth set to win their first game of the tournament, 3-1. Senior Karlie Taylor led the team with 24 kills in the game.

Despite a dominating showing in the opener, the Panthers were not able to keep the wins coming in games two and three of the tourney. Friday night drew a tough matchup against No. 21 Mizzou, resulting in a 3-1 loss for UNI, followed by a 3-0 defeat to Boise State on Saturday afternoon.

The Panther women turned the tide on Sunday, taking down Austin Peay, 3-1, to walk away with a 2-2 record.

Up next, the Panther women will travel to Milwaukee this weekend to participate in the Marquette Invitational.